Read "Zizhi Tongjian" Quickly: The Mirror for Emperors

Author: Lei Jiaji
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The books selected here are ones you will inevitably read at some point in your life, whether you are ten, thirty, or seventy years old! A minimalist reading list of Chinese culture. From the vast collection of ancient classics, sixty essential works have been chosen. For the first time, the style and essence of Chinese five-thousand-year culture are presented in an accessible and engaging format. A renowned Taiwanese authority on classical studies reexamines the classics with a 21st-century perspective, traversing time and space, guiding you into the "unfenced museum of Chinese culture."
The content of Zizhi Tongjian is presented in the order of its original chapters—Zhou, Qin, Han, Wei, etc.—with brief introductions and discussions by the author. Each topic forms a section, primarily summarizing Sima Guang's selection criteria, narrative style, and critical opinions. Zizhi Tongjian is a monumental chronological history that ties events to dates, with a somewhat scattered structure and vague details. The topics selected by the author are generally major issues in Chinese history, most of which have been commented on by Sima Guang in his "Zhengguang said."
The final section is the conclusion. Here, the author explains some matters that are inconvenient to elaborate on in the previous two parts. It also provides a comprehensive interpretation of certain issues in the first two parts, assisting readers in gaining a holistic understanding of the entire Zizhi Tongjian.